A little out of Berlin, situated in Oranienburg (a small town just outside of Berlin in the Brandenburg region), sits the wornderful Freizeitpark Germendorf. A treat of small lakes, live animals and some mighty dinosaurs!

You can either drive there by car (the park is located directly on the B273 and offers 850 parking spaces) or if like me, you don't have a car, you can take the S Bahn or Regionalbahn to Oranienburg S Bahnhof and then take the 824 Bus from directly outside the station, getting off at Germandorf Dorfstr. From there, the park is about another 15 minutes or so walk (follow the signs for the 'Tierpark' and cross the road when you see the hotel and lakes on the left-hand-side).

It can be a bit of a trek depending on where you live, but if you can make it a full day out, it is well worth it. The park is massive and features lakes, swamps, a very relaxed and natural feeling zoo and best of all (to me at least), a dinosaur park! Yep! Towards the right of the park there is a massive expanse of land featuring a volcano, large dinosaurs, a mini playground for young ones with dinosaurs you can sit and play on and more. The names and facts about each dinosaur are displayed in both German and English and there were some dinosaurs there I hadn't heard of before which was interesting.

As mentioned, it's a great place to go for a special day out and if you have the cash, you could even stay the night in one of the many local B&Bs or hotels and spend the weekend there. Entrance to the park is incredibly cheap with adults paying just €4, children under 3 free and not much more for kids over 3.

Parking for a whole day is just 50 cents! For an extra €2 you can bring your fishing equipment and have a go at fishing the lakes. There are wagons to rent to drag your kids or your belongings about in (or both needs be) and there are lots of areas that would be perfect for picnics (there is also typical chips and sausages served on site). The park features a small children's fairground alongside one of the lakes and you get to see some animals in more natural habitats that you experience in a zoo.

We saw what we believed to be an Otter, swimming and wandering the banks of the lake. There were deer wandering around the land and families were making their way jollying through the trees with their dogs, children on bikes and there were plenty of smiling faces.

It really was a wonderful day and I recommend it to anyone who fancies some fresh air and something a little different. Here are some more details on the place: